Three British servicemen to be repatriated to UK today

The bodies of Sergeant Gareth Thursby, Private Thomas Wroe and Lance Corporal
Duane Groom, who died in Afghanistan, are to be flown into RAF Brize Norton
in Oxfordshire today.

(L-R): Lance Corporal Duane Groom from The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards Sergeant Gareth Thursby and Private Thomas Wroe, both of 3rd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, as the bodies of three British servicemen killed on duty in Afghanistan will be repatriated to the UKPhoto: PA

Married father-of-two Sgt Thursby, 29, and Pte Wroe, 18, were shot dead in the south of Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province.

The men were killed at a checkpoint when a man dressed as a local Afghan policeman pretended to be injured so they would help him.

Sgt Thursby from Skipton, North Yorkshire, is survived by his wife Louise and two children, Joshua and Ruby.

His wife said: "Gareth was the love of my life. He was an amazing husband and father, happy, full of life and kind-hearted, with a passion for his work and family.

"He was brave, hard working, a loving husband who was a devoted father to his children. Our hero."

Pte Wroe was deployed to Afghanistan on July 1, shortly after his 18th birthday.

He leaves his parents, Michael and Claire, and sister Demi, from Holmfirth, West Yorkshire.

His family said in a statement: "Our son Thomas was a brave young soldier, who is loved by his family, girlfriend and friends.

"We can't believe you have been taken so soon from us. You will always be in our hearts for ever and ever."

The Ministry of Defence said an investigation was under way into the circumstances of the soldiers' deaths.

The shooting happened just a day after L/Cpl Groom was also killed during a bloody few days in the war-torn country.

The 32-year-old, who was born in Suva City, Fiji, was protecting his Afghan and British colleagues as they extracted from a successful operation when he was killed in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province.